Gates of Darkness: Unknown Reality
by MessiahofDar
Summary: Squabbling over the lost El, Elsword meets a variety of people and they join him on his journey. However, not everything is as it seems, and darkness soon consumes them. Betrayal, lies, and deception lie in store for them as they struggle to distinguish reality and illusion. Retells the story of Elsword with some added..."twists." Supports AishaxElsword, RenaxRaven, and EvexChung.
1. Crisp of Ruben

_Crisp of Ruben_

_Elsa. _Elsword's crimson eyes stared at the blank sky over him, watching the wispy white clouds drift across the pale blue horizon. A gentle wind breezed past, ruffling his red-colored hair as he slowly sat up. Memories of his sister, Elsa, haunted him each day. She had gone on a mission one day, tracking down a league of bandits, never to return. As if that wasn't enough, his own training came to a halt, no one else able to fill her shoes. Even as a full knight, it frustrated him that he wasn't able to do anything. Letting out a small sigh, Elsword stood up, stretching his arms out, a stark expression cast onto his face. "What am I supposed to do…?" he muttered to himself. Shaking his head slightly, he returned to Ruben, the little hamlet situated in the northern region of Rurensia. It was home to the great El-Tree, the source of power that fuels the entire kingdom with raw energy.

The lush green grass and assorted houses greeted his arrival, the laughter of children emit in the air as Elsword watched a group of kids rush past him. Walking across the bridge, he took a moment to stare at his own reflection in the blue water underneath it, observing his own features. _Damn it Lowe. When will you let me leave town and let me look for my sister?_ As if on cue, the gray-haired knight stepped up to him. "Elsword, I've been looking everywhere for you. There's an issue that I need to address," Lowe said to him, a not amused expression cast onto his face.

Elsword shifted his weight, mostly so that he could stare Lowe directly into his eyes. "Hurry up and tell me. I need to go resume doing whatever training that knight of yours' can give me," he replied in a monotone voice. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Lowe's help and what not, but he wanted to get out there, and all this useless blubbering around was doing nothing at all.

Lowe scratched his head, tilting it slightly to the side. "I don't think you understand. This isn't regarding your training or anything. There have been traces…of Elsa."

When the word _Elsa_ came up, Elsword's attention immediately was caught. "What…? You actually found her? Where is she? I'll head out right now-"he started, almost flailing his arms around in a sudden rush of excitement and apprehension.

"Remain calm. The Red Knights are not entirely sure whether or not if it was your sister. Even if it was, I'm not sending you. The journey would be too long and difficult for someone your age. The traces were found all the way near Velder village," Lowe responded, still seeming uncomfortable discussing this topic.

Elsword let out an irritated sigh, almost stomping his foot in anger. "What? You think I'm too young to do something as simple as that? I'm a knight and I can find her alone, if you would let me go," he retorted to the older knight.

Lowe blinked, shrugging slightly. "You may be a knight, but you're nowhere near Elsa's level, and she disappeared for this long. I just wanted to inform you of this. You can carry on with your training now," the older knight said and then stalked off back to the Red Knight's cabin.

Elsword clenched his fists together, gritting his teeth against each other. "What was the point in telling me if you were just going to forbid me from going?" he questioned himself. Punching the wall of brick next to him, a few cracks were indented around his fist, a small drop of blood seeping out of a small cut, the red liquid falling to the grass. Taking a step back from the bridge, he walked back into the forest from where he had come from, pulling his sword out of his sheath. In a fit of anger, Elsword started to slash down the trees surrounding him, the trunks sliding, leaving small stubs. The ground shook slightly as each trunk hit the grass and he stabbed the ground with his sword, leaning his weight onto the massive blade. Staring into the sword, his reflection shifted slightly, a taller figure now appearing, with longer red hair and feminine features, his sister Elsa now materializing. Shaking his head from side to side, Elsword let out a small sigh, pulling the sword out of the ground and balanced the flat of the blade onto his shoulder. "This is useless. I'm going to go talk to Lowe again," he said to himself.

Striding back to the town, Elsword saw both Lowe and Hagus, the chief of Ruben. However, their conversation stopped him dead in his tracks. Narrowing his eyes, he slid to the right, hiding behind a tree and poked his head over the large trunk, acting all "assassin-like."

"Wait. That should not be possible. The wavelength and radiation of the El is still here. How are you suggesting that it was taken?" Lowe asked, a form of desperation in his voice now as he interrogated the chief.

Hagus stroked his brown beard, shaking his head from side to side. "Have you not felt it? The prominence and energy of the El is vanishing. There is no doubt that someone had taken it. I would send someone to check on it, but then we would have very little defense for ourselves, if someone were to attack us. But, if I am correct, and we do not retrieve it soon, it is possible that almost all forms of life in this area would die."

Lowe leaned against the arc of the building, placing his hand onto the brick wall. "I cannot go myself. The rest of the Knights here are too old to make such a journey or are still too undertrained. We may have to contact the elves for assistance. Do you have any idea who may have taken the El?" he asked Hagus.

Hagus shook his head, a faint frown now etching itself across his face. "The only reasonable idea that would come to my head would be bandits, but what type of bandit would want to take the El?"

"Not a very smart one. I would assume it would be a hired mercenary or bandit group for that matter. I'll contact the elves and see if they can send someone as soon as possible," Lowe replied, turning around to move back to his house when a hand stopped him. Looking back, he saw that Hagus had grabbed his arm.

"Do you not have Elsa's brother? Elsword may be able to handle the task," Hagus said, his eyes unwavering as he looked at Lowe, who shuffled uncomfortable at the mention of both Elsa and Elsword.

"I don't think that would be a good idea. He's only a child and is too intent on finding his sister. He would only rush out there to die and never come back."

Hagus nodded, letting go of Lowe now. "Then make it quick. We don't have much time. See if they can send the Wind Sneaker…" he said to the knight, who was already in the process of leaving the village.

Elsword smiled slightly to himself, his excitement starting to rise. _So they think that I'm too young for this mission…? I'll show them what I can do. I'm a Knight and I'll make Sis proud. _Straightening himself up, he broke into a run, passing Hagus without the chief noticing him and into the threshold of the forest.

The forest was different from the one that Elsword trained in, having far less vegetation and trees. A small squeak drew his attention to a small cream-colored creature, almost looking like a very small cute rodent…with a spear. Blinking in surprise, he stepped to the left, narrowly avoiding the sudden jab the little creature did. _What the heck…_His own hand stretched backwards and grabbed the hilt of his blade and in one smooth motion, he pulled it out of the sheath and slashed down at the Phoru, feeling the connection of metal to bone, and added more pressure. The rodent squealed and dropped to the ground. Elsword smiled in victory, but only for a few moments. The sudden squeak had drawn the attention of at least another ten of the small things to him. "You've got to be kidding me…" he muttered to himself, pulling the blade up and rested it on his shoulder, ready for the assault of another ten rat things.

Swerving to the side, Elsword jumped into the air, planting his boot onto the face of one of the Phoru's, heaving himself off of it and twisted around, bringing his blade down into a forward slash. It connected with two of the rodents and sent them packing, a small amount of red liquid drenching the very tip of his blade. Landing onto the ground, his knees tensed slightly, and he suddenly lurched forward, launching one heavy strike onto the ground in front of him, a crater appearing as the remaining Phoru slid onto the ground from the force of the impact. A red aura started to envelop around him and he suddenly felt a sudden surge of power. Within an instant, his movements started to become very fluid, almost as if he was dancing, as awkward as it sounded. The remaining Phoru were dead or unconscious at his feet. He didn't stop to check and continued forward, now moving the blade into a downward position so that he could carry it better.

_Lowe had always said something about aggressive creatures in the forest, but if this is the strongest thing there is, then Lowe really is stupid. _Elsword came to a small barricade of wood, the aroma and smell of it revolting. Planting one foot behind him, he raised his sword upward and brought it down, the sound of cracking wood echoing throughout the empty forest. Walking into the barricade, he felt the branches gaze his exposed skin, but he didn't care. He had to keep moving, to find Elsa and check on the El.

A gigantic tree stood in front of him, with no indication of the presence of the El. Elsword narrowed his eyes, kneeling down beside the tree, his fingers digging at a large footprint next to it. "It's obviously not here. I can follow these footsteps and then knock out whoever stole the El," he said. Nodding to himself as if that was an excellent plan, he stood up and started to follow the footprints until a loud screech bellowed beside him. _What now…?_

Tilting his head to the side, Elsword examined the much larger Phoru that had suddenly appeared. "You're much bigger than the rest, aren't you? Size won't help you…I'll just take you down!" he exclaimed. Rushing at the gigantic creature, he slashed his sword down at it, only inflicting a small cut onto the Phoru. _Well. That didn't work. _The Phoru swatted its' arm forward, flinging backwards a few feet. Spinning midair, he slid across the ground, slamming the sword into the ground to start himself from being rammed into the trunk of the El tree. "Move giant rat! I don't have time for this," he said to the creature, not caring that it wouldn't be able to understand him.

Ready to try again, Elsword readied his sword and started to rush it again, before a large fireball slammed into the Phoru, burning it to a crisp. Blinking at the sudden slaughter of the rat, Elsword started to look around, his eyes narrowing. "Who did that? Show yourself!" he exclaimed, waving his sword around in the aspect of another person to fight.

A small laugh, one belonging to a girl, came out as a response. "You aren't very thankful, are you? I just did save your life from that creature," the girl said, still not showing herself to the red-haired and crude boy.

Elsword's eyes twitched slightly and his grip tightened on the hilt of his blade. "I was perfectly fine. I did not need your help, especially from little girly runts like yourself," he retorted to the voice, starting to walk away now, only to stop in his tracks as a petite purple-haired girl suddenly materialized in front of him. "Uh…who are you?" he asked the girl.

The girl scrunched up her eyebrows, holding the purple wand with both of her hands. "You have a terrible memory. I'm the person who just saved your life," she said to Elsword, a faint smile on her face.

Elsword shook his head, his irritation level starting to rise. _Oh hell no. This little girl did not just kill this thing before I could. _"Sorry, little girl, but I don't think you understand what you're saying. You should go home before you get hurt out here," he said to her, stepping to the side to move forward again.

"Little girl? I'm 15. And I have a name, you know," the purple-haired girl said to Elsword, moving to that she was now in his way one again, a somewhat irritated look on both of their faces now.

"I could honestly care less. What are you even doing out here and hat is your name?" Elsword asked, almost ready to just slam his sword into this little girl's face and just go to the next section of the forest.

"I'm just traveling. The chief in Ruben asked me for help and now I'm searching for this missing El that was just stolen. As for my name…I'm Aisha."


	2. Blossoming

_Blossoming_

Somewhere in the mortal world, a single strip of wind breezed by, the grass underneath her feet swishing lightly under the force. Sitting upon the stump of a tree, her hands rested against the base of it, feeling the roughness of the once giant organism between its' rigid indentures and rings. Her green colored-hair laid down her back, reaching the small of her back, opposite to her navel and her own ivory eyes started at the open sky. Never before had she felt such a disturbance in her 100 years of life as she did now. It was almost as if life itself was sucked away from where she was, feeling the raspy movements of the small animals around her. Letting out a small sigh, the elf named Rena raised her arms upward, bending from side to side. Clothed in entirely green clothing, it wasn't easy to see her, especially since it was now dark, the bleak light of orange and yellow mixed as the sun started to set on the horizon. That's when a voice startled her.

"Are you the Wind Sneaker?" Lowe asked, panting slightly as he placed his hands onto his knees, his gray-colored eyes staring almost emptily at the now distilled grass. The knight had traveled from Ruben as soon as Elsword had ventured into the forest, intent on finding some outside force that would be willing enough to retrieve the El.

Rena blinked, a small devious smile coming to her face. "That would be me. What brings you to my home at such a late time?" she asked Lowe, her voice as smooth as silk and condensed to a soft whisper.

Lowe blinked, scratching his hair now as he recovered; now standing up. "Well, the El from the El tree in Ruben village had been stolen. We do not have any exact idea who stole it but we do suspect it is bandits. Can you help track it down?" he asked the female elf.

Rena tapped the base of her chin with her index finger, tilting her head to the side that her hair almost fell down onto her face. Blowing it out of her face, her cheery expression turned into a somewhat grim one. _The El has been stolen? That would explain why it seems as if the life force around here is starting to be sucked up. But, I can't just abandon my post here. Then again, nothing ever happens here anymore. _Letting out a small sigh, the smile appeared on her face again and she slowly stood up, taking a few steps towards Lowe now.

Lowe blinked, shuffling almost hesitantly as Rena took a few steps closer to him. Taking a single step back, he stared at the elf into her ivory eyes now. "Is there a problem?"

"Of course not~ I would be happy to help, sir knight," Rena said cheerfully, raising her fingers to Lowe's forehead and flicked him. "It would have been smarter to send someone in your own village to at least track them down. It'll take me awhile to find them without any clues," she said to Lowe.

A bit of red rose to Lowe's cheeks when the elf flicked him in the forehead and he took a step back. "Hey! I have you know, I am the leader of the knights back at Ruben, so I expect some form of respect," he said to Rena, but was obviously flushed from the sudden contact.

Rena smiled subtlety, nodding her head gently. "Yes, yes, sir knight," she said to Lowe, a small tone of sarcasm and mock respect in her voice. _It's fun to tease this guy. High-stringed knights like him have no sense of the thing._

Lowe opened his mouth in response before the footsteps of another person intervened. He turned his head, his eyes widened in surprise to see Aika, one of the current knights in training, standing there beside the tree and out of breath. "Aika…? What are you doing out here?!" he exclaimed to his own apprentice, narrowing his eyes now.

Aika coughed for a moment before raising himself up, his black armor making him one with the night. "S-sir…It's Elsword! We can't find him anywhere!"

Lowe blinked, letting out a small sigh. _Knowing that kid, he probably found out about the missing El or went out to find his sister. I'll have to assume that it's both right now. _Lowe faced Rena once more, both his eyes and face now desperate. "Can you please help? I'm afraid one of my idiot knights went out there alone. Can you make sure he's safe and retrieve the El?"

_Elsword. If he's anything like this guy in front of me, it would be fun to find him and tease him a bit. It would certainly be easy. Other than that, finding the El would be my main priority. I have to make sure that life can be sustained here. _"I'll make sure he's safe and I'll retrieve the El as well," Rena said to Lowe, now walking back to the little stump that she was sitting down on, picking up her bow and arrows next to it.

Lowe bowed slightly, dipping his head down to Rena. "Thank you very much. If you don't mind then, I'll have to take Aika back to Ruben and sustain our own village. We'll send the Red Knights after you once everything is settled," he said to Rena. Grabbing Aika's hand, he started to dash back to Ruben village, regulating his oxygen intake by breathing in and out heavily. He was old after all.

Rena watched the two of them leave, the same smirk still on her face. "Be careful you two. If the El is gone, then any creature will attack you in an instant," she said to herself. _Where should I start first? It would be smart to go to the El tree first and see if there are any sort of tracks or clues that I can use to find whoever stole it. If the El is anywhere close to me, I should be able to feel its radiation. _Strapping the bow to the right side of her leg, she stretched once more. Reaching down, she also grabbed her pack and clipped the two buckles together, swinging it around and rested it on her shoulder. Looking at the little stump one more time, a small smile appeared on Rena's face and she headed towards the El tree, ready for this prospect of adventure. _Things are starting to blossom now._

_Aisha? What a stupid name. _That was the only thought that went through Elsword's mind as Aisha introduced herself to him. "Thank you for that introduction. Can you leave me alone now? I don't need any help," he repeated. If he could track the footprints to their original source then that would be it. He would have found the El and then Lowe wouldn't treat him like some child anymore.

Aisha rested one hand on her hip, tilting her entire body to the side somewhat. "I can't leave. I'm heading in the same direction as you. Stop being so rude," she said to Elsword.

The knight's eyes twitched and he face palmed himself. "Fine, you can come along. But, if you slow me down or anything, I will personally send you back to wherever you came from. Is that good enough, brat?"

Aisha smiled slyly, placing one finger onto the base of her chin. "You shouldn't call someone a brat when they are older and stronger than you," she started. Elsword opened his mouth in the formation of another rude retort before the mage cut him off. "Anyways, let's get moving. We don't want to stick around here all day now."

Without saying anything else, Elsword brushed past Aisha, a scowl evident on his face. Swiping away the branches that tore at his face and exposed skin, the knight was making little to no progress in getting past the new barrier that led to the next area. Reaching for his sword once more, he pulled it out of his sheath and slashed down at it pile of branches and what not, but it would not give away, the entire ground rumbling at the pure resistance and force of both blade and wood. _What the hell is wrong with this forest? Wood isn't supposed to be able to beat metal. That stupid El must have had something to do with it. _

"Oh, is the big bold knight having a problem getting past it? Move aside," Aisha said to Elsword, taunting him. The knight made no attempt to move and she let out a small sigh, opening her palm to create a small ball of fire. Throwing it into the air, it multiplied, the very atmosphere starting to feel clammy and hot. Shooting her hand down, the volley of fire balls crashed into the barrier, while she made sure that it did not touch Elsword at the same time. The smell of rotting wood swirled into her nose, making her scrunch it up in disgust, but the barrier still stood.

"Looks like you can't get past it either, so shut up," Elsword retorted to Aisha. This would delay him for just awhile longer, but he would have to go around the entire thing now. Turning his head to the side, he started to head down a different path that was free of such vegetation, but instead seemed to lead into some sort of swamp.

Aisha puffed her cheeks out, fuming a bit, but followed the knight. "So this is White Mist Swamp. If we go this way, it should lead us to the next village." Despite only being 15, she had traveled quite a bit, and had visited all the villages at least one. She did hover mostly around Elder or Bethma village though.

"I didn't ask, know-it-all." Elsword rested the blunt side of his blade onto his shoulder, pacing slowly ahead. If this area was anything like how the forest was, he would suspect that there would be more of those little white rat things. Unluckily for him, he was correct. Small groups of Phoru were amassed together in the field ahead of the two, but it seemed as if there were…walking trees with them as well. _Walking trees? I will never understand how any of this stuff works. But, they're enemies. I'll just have to blow past them and get to the next village. _Letting out some type of battle cry, Elsword jumped into the air, landing in the middle of the Phoru, who all jumped at his sudden appearance. Before any of them could act though, he lifted his arm up, taking his sword into the air and brought it down swiftly, cutting into the body of one of the Phoru's. Retracting his sword, he planted his feet against the ground and used his other foot to kick aside another one of the Phoru's, pulling his sword back to slap the third one behind him with the back of his blade. Screeching, the third Phoru stumbled backwards, but extracted its' claws and attempted to claw at Elsword before a giant fireball crashed into it.

"The least you can do is wait, you know. It's rude to leave a lady behind," Aisha said, materializing behind Elsword now due to her teleportation abilities. Waving her wand in one smooth movement, her arm moved in several strokes, and three more fireballs appeared around her, burning the remaining Phoru's to a crisp. "Phoru's were never aggressive. I wonder if it is because the El was taken…" she muttered to herself and Elsword, only to look back to see that the red-haired knight was already dashing into the next group of Phoru. _What an arrogant jerk. _

So, the things were called Phoru. That didn't matter at all to Elsword. They were all just in his way. Weaving in front of and behind the next wave of Phoru, his sword seemed almost weightless, and he stabbed it forward. Connecting with two of the Phoru, he started to perform an intricate combo, performing multiple slashes in various directions before throwing the sword up into the air. Jumping up, his hand grasped the hilt of the blade and he brought it down, killing the last Phoru of that group. He regained his balance, pressing the sword back onto his shoulder, taking a moment to catch his breath. _Another barrier up ahead…? I hope it isn't as strong as the last one._ Walking up to the mass of wood, he heaved his blade into the air and swung it down, hearing the crack and snapping of wood. Smiling to himself, Elsword watched the barrier break into two.

Aisha was dealing with her own group of Phoru that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Teleporting behind two of them, electricity crackled in her hand and she waved her hands to the side, shooting a single jagged line of lightning towards the group of Phoru. Stunning them, she jumped into the air, dissolving into nothing as she materialized further up in the air. Waving her wand in one movement, the volley of fireballs appeared around her and she flung them down at the Phoru, burning them all to a small crisp except for one. Landing on her feet, she was about to finish it off before a giant sword finished it off for her. Turning her head in an instant, she glared at Elsword. "I didn't ask you to intervene. I was doing perfectly fine on my own," she said to Elsword.

"You were taking too long, princess. Hurry up. The next barrier is already open. If you can't keep up with me, just go home," the knight said to Aisha, his voice aggravated and cold. Without waiting for the mage, he sprinted towards the already broken barrier and passed through it. What greeted him on the other side was with a monkey. In contrast to all the monkeys Elsword saw in his life so far, this one was gigantic. It had a silver chest and had two red stripes on each of it's' arms, the rest of it's' body black. _You have got to be kidding me. First there are rats and now there's a monkey? This is ridiculous…_

Coming to a halt, Elsword swerved to the side, narrowly dodging a sudden upward thrust from the monkey, who roared past him, crashing into a nearby tree, which sunk to the ground as if it was light as paper. Shuffling the sword from his right hand to his left and back to his right, Elsword placed the blade onto his shoulder and leapt at the monkey, spinning around completely and then used the momentum of the turn to stab the Monkey King, who flung back several feet from the sheer force of the impact. However, it simply pounded the ground and let out another roar, showing that it was nowhere near finished yet.

Aisha walked through the barrier, wand clasped in both of her hands as she watched Elsword exchange blows with the Monkey King. Twirling the wand in between her fingers now, she held out one open palm, the same crackle of lightning emitting as the purple-blue colored ball materialized in the middle of her hand. Throwing her arm forward, she shot the bolt of electricity at the Monkey King, dazing the giant beast while Elsword danced around it, switching the sword from hand to hand as he slashed at its silver chest, black back, and big head. The Monkey King roared one more time and swatted Elsword away, who merely slid across the grass, stabbing the ground with his sword to create friction to stop himself from moving.

Aisha let out a small sigh, creating a small ball of fire now, and launched it into the sky. Chanting an incantation to herself, she snapped her fingers, and the ball of fire vanished. A moment passed and suddenly the ground underneath the Monkey King erupted, a giant plume of lava gushing out of a sudden crater, engulfing the creature.

Elsword blinked in surprise, not expecting that the purple-haired brat could pull of something of that level. He could feel the magnitude of the spell while he was at least ten feet away from it, the ground shaking as the fire erupted from the ground. As it died down, what used to be the Monkey King was now a revolting sight of just fur and pink flesh.

Aisha smiled to herself, now glancing at Elsword slyly. "How was that?" she asked the knight, her voice teasing a bit as she walked over to the red-haired male.

Elsword didn't even look over at Aisha. "Don't be so proud of yourself. It wasn't that good," he said to the purple-haired girl, obviously lying. Striding forward, he slid past a few trees, ignoring the branches that protested at his arrival, cutting his exposed arms. Walking into a seemingly empty clearing, he narrowed his eyes and then looked off to the distance, seeing the clear yet faint outline of another village. _There we are. It shouldn't take too long now. The bandits that stole the El must at least be over there by now._

Aisha tightened her grip on her wand, eyes twitching slightly now. "As if you could do better, idiot!" she exclaimed. _Why am I getting so annoyed by him? He's just a kid. _Letting out all her angry in the formation of a sigh, she followed after him, entering the small clearing as well. However, something didn't seem right. "Something doesn't feel right here…"

"Oh, like what? There's obviously nothing here-"Elsword started, but stopped when a Phoru, much bigger than the rest stepped out from the trees and glared at the two of them as if they were prey. It had purple scales all across its body and its' hands and feet were also completely purple.

"You were saying?" Aisha questioned, sticking her tongue out at him before retracting it the very next second. _This must be the guardian of the El that the chief of Ruben village was telling me about. _The circular grassy field was soon filled with a knight, a mage, a gigantic Phoru, and a daunting silence.

Elsword gripped his sword and pulled it up from the ground, pointing it at the giant Phoru. "If you don't want to die like the others, I suggest you get out of the way," he said to the gigantic rat thing.

"Um…I don't think you should talk to it like that," Aisha said to Elsword, but it was already too late. The Ancient Phoru dropped its head to the ground and opened its mouth, a ball of fire erupting out and crept towards both Aisha and Elsword. Aisha narrowed her eyes and teleported, materializing on a nearby branch, using the trunk as support. Elsword let out a yelp and dropped to the ground, the fire grazing the very tip of his red hair, leaving a small fire on it.

Elsword stood up, a grin on his face. "Ha! You didn't even touch me. What a sad excuse-"Elsword started again, but finally noticed the fire that was raging on the top of his head. Quickly "punching" his head, he jogged around the small circular field, yelling multiple curses as he attempted to put the fire out. The Ancient Phoru blinked and opened its mouth once again, preparing another volley of fire.

Aisha shook her head, opening her palm once again. _Oh, no you don't. You won't kill either of us today…_The small ball of fire appeared in her hand once more and she whispered the incantation to herself. Throwing it into the air, she watched it vanish in front of her eyes, and she snapped her fingers. Like with the Monkey King, the ground underneath the Ancient Phoru burst and lava streaked out, crisping the creature. Drained of mana, Aisha fell out of the tree, managing to float to the ground and land awkwardly onto it. "You need to be more careful," she managed to say, now panting as she recovered.

Elsword finally put out the fire, noticing that only the very tip had burned off. Looking over, he saw a burnt up rat and a very tired Phoru. _And she saved me again. Who the hell is this kid?_ "Shut up. The village is over there. Come on," he said to Aisha.

Aisha gritted her teeth, now standing up straight now. "The least you can be is grateful for me saving your life twice!" she exclaimed. Noticing that Elsword didn't care, she let out a small sigh, following the knight onto the path that led to the village.

"Do you even know what village is up ahead?" Elsword asked the mage, looking at her, observing her for a moment before looking away again, focusing on the grass now instead of her.

Aisha blinked, nodding. "It is Elder Village. We should be able to upgrade our equipment and rest there," she said to Elsword, obviously tired from all the fighting that they had just done.

"Who said you could come with me? As soon as we reach the village, we're splitting up," Elsword replied, a scowl now on his face, still not making any sort of eye contact with Aisha.

She rolled her eyes, a faint smile on her face. "Yeah, we'll see about that. You'll need my help. If it wasn't for me, you would have died twice today. Also, you still haven't told me your name."

The red-haired knight marched forward; having no counter argument to what Aisha said other than just calling her an idiot or stupid. "Elsword. My name is Elsword," he said to her.

Aisha smiled, coming to a halt now. "Nice to meet you Elsword or that's what I would say, if you actually shown some manners, idiot," she said to him. Elsword opened his mouth to respond but the mage stopped him by raising her hand, pointing to her left. "We're here."

To the left, full of life and bliss, were the civilians of another village. They were unaware that the El had been stolen and were unaware of the hardships that were soon to come, as well as Elsword and Aisha. But for now, they had reached Elder Village, the next stop on their journey to retrieve the El.


	3. The Village Of Crystilises

**_The Village Of Crystilises_**

The crisp smell of bread and other bakery goods crept into Aisha's nose, making her mouth water slightly, the pictures of Phoru cookies and Tangy smoothies flashing in her mind. Walking into the merchant village, that was the first thing the purple-haired mage noticed. That's when she bumped into a rock-like statue, almost recoiling back at the sudden impact. "Ouch…" Aisha muttered to herself, taking a step back as she rubbed her forehead, staring at the structure in front of her. It was carved into the shape of a nobleman. Dressed in the rock formation of a suit and long pants, his face was stricken and handsome, looking almost like a prince in a fairy tale. _Wow. Who is that? These statues weren't here the last time I was here…_

Now looking at the rest of the village, she noticed that the overall layout had also changed dramatically. The entire town's flooring had been replaced with white marble, the sight of her reflection in the stone confirming that. Fountains of crystal blue water plumed out of the ground in various places, next to other small stalls and houses that circled a small plaza. Looking at the sign carved intricately on the entrance arch, Aisha read _Marketplace. _Next to the Marketplace was an arena of some sort, a black-haired lady wearing only a long red shirt stood there, a clipboard in hand as she observed the writing on it, speaking to a group of children. On a upper level were two large stalls. One read _Alchemy _and the other read _Blacksmith, _the smell of smoke, ore, and potions streaking out of that area. Statues of the man that Aisha had bumped into before were scattered across the village, obviously representing someone important. Adjacent to both her and Elsword was an accessory store and a bank, two very similar looking people standing at each one. The difference was that one had orange-colored hair and had a fairer complexion while the other had blondish hair and wore glasses, being shorter than the other one as well.

Aisha was in love with the scenery, her eyes bright and shining as she paced around, almost spinning around. Elsword, on the other hand, was not. A scowl was emit on his face and his sword was still placed awkwardly on the top of his right shoulder, his crimson eyes staring over the entire village. "How much longer are you going to stick around me? I already told you that I don't need you, so just leave me along," the knight exclaimed to the girl.

Taking a moment to reply, Aisha looked back at Elsword, a frown on her face as her eyes reflected solemn. "What's wrong with you? You obviously need help. If I didn't help you when were in White Mist Swamp, you would have died."

"I don't need a brat telling me what to do or what I need. I'm moving on without you. I don't have time to enjoy the scenery like you, princess," Elsword retorted. Flipping the sword in his hand, he slid it into his sheath, a clasping sound emitting as it stuck in place. Shoving past Aisha, he started to storm ahead until the orange-haired girl from the merchant shop called out.

"Um…excuse me? Are you new?" Luichel asked, her head tilted to the side, her head popped in between the window and the wall. Elsword came to a stop, letting out a small sigh as another person yet again interfered with his mission. He nodded, looking over at her now.

Luichel blinked, removing her head from the window and walked through the door of the small house, a faint smile on her face. "Apart from being the accessory shop owner, I also greet any visitors. Is there anything I can do to help you?" she asked the knight.

Aisha, catching up to Elsword, hit the red-haired male on the top of his head with her wand, a small pout on her face. "Don't run off without me, moron," she said to him. Glancing at Luichel, her eyes almost shone, a large grin forming on her face. "It's good to see that you're still here, Luichel! The rest of Elder Village changed a lot…" she muttered.

Elsword let out a yelp, his hands instantly going to the top of his head, grumbling a curse under his breath as he took a step back, letting the two girls talk to each other as he waited impatiently. _This sucks. If I can't get rid of her here, I'll have to get rid of her when we run into the bandits. I still have to find my sister too…_Elsword clasped his hands together, trying to control his own irritation and anger, although he wasn't sure who or what he was angry at.

Luichel nodded. "It's because of Wally. He's been given total permission to reconstruction the town to his liking."

"Wally? I never heard of him before. Who's that?" Aisha asked, tilting her head to the side somewhat, placing one leg behind the other as she lowered her wand to her side.

"How can I say this…? Wally is the leader of Elder Village now. He was elected just recently, but he completely revamped the entire system that we used to have here. You may not see it, but it's no longer the same here," Luichel said, her voice a little sad.

Aisha looked over the village again. As beautiful as it was, she felt as if Luichel was right. The very vibe and aura felt off, almost foreboding. "Is Hoffman still here?" she asked the accessory owner.

Luichel bobbed her head up and down, her orange curls almost jiggling as she nodded her head. "Yes, Hoffman is still around. I think he's in his cabin now actually. Did you want to see him?"

Aisha shrugged, rolling her shoulders up before letting them drop. "It depends. I do have a few questions for him though." Luichel opened her mouth in the formation of a response before a sudden creaking sound drew her attention back to her own little shop, seeing a customer walk in. "Eep. That's my cue. I'll see you later, Aisha!" the shopkeeper exclaimed before running back into the store, closing the door behind her.

"If you're done now, I would appreciate it if we could hurry up and trace the footsteps to their source. I'm running out of time and I don't have time for your gossip," Elsword retorted, his arms crossed against his chest as he stared annoyingly at Aisha.

The petite mage rolled her eyes, trudging over to the knight. "Shut up. I wasn't gossiping. I still have to talk to someone else, so you'll have to wait."

"And what makes you think I'll wait for you to finish up? I can just leave right now," Elsword responded.

"Well, if you try to do that…" Aisha started, a very creepy-like smile forming on her face. Twirling the wand around in between her fingers, it rolled around her index and thumb, a small wind swirling around the weapon. "I'll have to resort to drastic measures."

A sudden picture of both the Monkey King and Ancient Phoru blowing up into a plume of lava flashed in Elsword's mind and he gulped, now scratching his red-colored hair. _What a brat…_Grimacing, he turned his head away, staring down at the ground. "Fine…" he muttered.

"See…that wasn't too hard now," she said. Laying her arm and wand to her side, Aisha took the leader, passing the Marketplace and various fountains sprawled around her. Glancing quickly into one, she saw her own reflection, showing her unkempt and messy hair, as well as the dirt and scratches all over her face. _I need to take a bath later…_Twisting her head around; she came to a halt, a small "cabin" now in front of her. It was twice her size and was made completely out of brick, a black wisp of smoke drifting out of the chimney located on the top. There was a little patio section wedged under the front door, creating a space for visitors and chairs. Letting out a small sigh, Aisha took a step forward and knocked on the door, waiting now.

Elsword followed after Aisha, tapping his foot impatiently as the mage conducted her business. After a moment or two, the door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped out. Dressed in a blue shirt with a black sweater over and long beige pants, the man named Hoffman stared down at Aisha. His voice boomed out, gruff and military-like. "Aisha! It's been so long. What brought you here?" the merchant asked Aisha.

"Um…I actually have to talk to you in private. It's about the El in Ruben," she stated, her respond blunt and meek. Hoffman blinked and let out a small laugh, stepping to the side so that both Elsword and Aisha could pass. "Then make yourself at home," he said. Aisha stepped inside, Elsword quickly following.

The interior of the cabin was just as old fashioned as the outside. Everything was made out of the wood. As soon as Aisha and Elsword entered the cabin, they noticed the little wooden lantern suspended above their heads, lighting a dull orange light. A wooden arch further welcomed them into the cabin and thus a mixture of tables, chairs, and other homely items. Placed in the very back was a large book shelf, various books assorted in alphabetical order. Next to it was a room with a sign: _Do Not Enter. _Elsword looked at the sigh, a mischievous grin forming on his face. He was the one to break the rules and that sign just drew his attention to the door. Taking a step forward to it, Elsword was intent on going inside until Hoffman's voice echoed from behind them, ringing throughout the wooden structure. "So, what is it that you require of me today?" the merchant asked, stepping into the cabin as he closed the door, the natural light being condensed to nothing but a small ray of sunshine from the open crack on the door.

Aisha stood at the edge of one of the desks, her fingers gently drumming the baseline of the wood, her other hand placed firmly on her hip. "I need information. I already said this, but you know that El tree in Ruben?" she asked Hoffman, who grunted in confirmation. "The El has gone missing. Have you noticed any difference in energy levels or of the sort?"

Hoffman rubbed his chin, closing his eyes as he contemplated Aisha's question. "That is a very troublesome situation. If the El truly went missing, then the very life force that It supports will disperse and many will end up dying."

"I know. That is why I'm asking if you know anything that can help m-us in our search for the El," Aisha responded, taking a step back to glare at Hoffman.

"I haven't noticed anything unusual. However, Wally has been producing and creating many Crystilises in the last two days. Given our current resources, I would say that the number he's been putting out is close to impossible," Hoffman answered.

Elsword scrunched up his eyebrows, his turn to be confused. "Crystilises? What the hell is that?" The knight had been near the bookshelf, observing the random skill books that were already opened, but at turned his head to face the two of them when the unusual word was said.

Hoffman scratched his balding head, rummaging at the few tufts of hair he had left. "Crystilises are a new type of technology that Wally created. It's a new form of energy that cuts down labor and can perform tasks as a much faster rate. It takes a lot of energy to create just one and now he has at least a hundred made so far, and I don't know where he is getting the energy to do so. If you ever heard the legend of the Nasods, it is very similar to those, but I don't know how related the two are or if Wally is just using a different name."

Elsword, now uninterested, turned his head back to the open books. _I don't care about Crystilises or Wally or whatever is going on around here. This entire conversation is pointless. _He was half tempted to just rush out of the cabin and head into the next area, ready to trace the footsteps to the bandits that stole the El and beat them to a pulp. The only problem was that he didn't want to be blown up by a freaking volcano by Aisha. Sighing to himself, he flipped the page, his eyes scanning the intricate sword motions, showing him new ways to slice and dice at enemies.

Aisha voiced Elsword's thoughts. "I don't see how that relates to the missing El. It couldn't be Wally had a thing to do with the capture of it. He must have some sort of new power source to supply it or something like that…" she trailed off, now taking a step back from the desk.

Hoffman lowered his hands to his back, clasping them together. "That is all the information I have. I would reckon that would be the case. I would assume that it would be a group of bandits that stole Ruben's El. They may be hiding in one of the forests or caves nearby. But, I suggest you two get properly equipped before setting out. Elder is a much different place now," he stated.

Aisha nodded simply, stifling a yawn from escaping her parted lips. "Thank you for the help, Hoffman," she said, a slight amount of exhaustion portrayed in it. _That didn't help at all. _Walking over to the door of the cabin, she looked back at the knight who was still in the back, a frown cast upon her face. "Are you coming, Elsword?"

"Y-yeah…" the knight stammered, trying to soak up as much knowledge as he could from the books, not seeing anything so intricate or powerful since Elsword had last seen his sister. Slowly pacing backwards, he turned around, face to face with Aisha now. "Hurry up and go. I want to check out this forest as soon as possible," he said to her. Rolling her eyes, Aisha merely pushed Elsword away. "Stop being so impatient and thank Hoffman," she retorted to Elsword.

Elsword looked over to the middle-aged man, smiled slyly, and merely walked out of the cabin. Aisha drooped slightly, taking a single step out of the wooden structure. "Sorry about that…He's a bit rude…," she said to the merchant, closing the door behind her. Hoffman smiled to himself, letting out a loud laugh. "Those two are an interesting pair…" he exclaimed to himself. Turning around, he walked over to the door next to the bookshelf, turned the doorknob, and stepped into the darkened room.

Strolling away from the shade of the overhead patio, Aisha was temporarily blinded by the sudden arch of sunlight into her eyes. Raising her hand to mask her vision, she stumbled over the crooked step underneath the patio and immediately crashed into someone. Tumbling onto the hard pavement of marble, a silent groan parted from her lips and she twisted her head to the left, surprised to see a kid younger than both her and Elsword dressed in complete body armor, a sword strapped to their back. "O-oh, I'm sorry!" Aisha exclaimed, scrambling away from the fallen boy and quickly stood up, brushing away the dust caught on the sleeves of her shirt and skirt.

The boy blinked, bringing himself to his feet as well, unconcerned with the dust on him unlike Aisha. "It's alright. Just watch where you're walking next time," he said, his voice kind and light.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how old are you? You seem too young to be wearing armor like that…" Aisha trailed off. The knight let out a toothy grin, cockily tilting his head to the side. "I'm twelve, but that doesn't matter. I'm trying to find-"he started but was interrupted when Elsword marched onto the conversation.

"Here we are gossiping again. Don't you have anything better to do? Like, not holding me back and helping me find the El? Or if you want to stick around old bald merchants or your lady friends, you can stay here," Elsword scowled, his eyes scanning the other knight next to Aisha. "And who are you?"

The boy's eyes flickered from Aisha to Elsword before he scratched his head, letting out another laugh. "You two ask really personal questions. My name is Zexon. It is a pleasure to meet the both of you," he said to them, bowing slightly, his knees bending to the ground slightly before he returned to his original position. Zexon had black-colored spiky hair and yellow eyes. His armor was very much like Elsword's, except it was just green instead.

Elsword narrowed his eyes, placing his arms across his chest. "Yeah, yeah, stop your flattery. What is a knight doing out here? From what I've seen, there is no guild of knights here," he said to Zexon, a tone of suspicion clear in his voice, but quickly wavered when Aisha hit him again with the back of her wand, her eyes twitching slightly. "Can you not be rude to people for once in your life?" she reprimanded Elsword, although the same thought was in her head. There were no guilds in Elder village or at least the last time she was here and she doubted that a kid his age could be a loner.

Zexon nodded, the small smile still on his face. "I've actually just been sent out on a mission by my own guild. I'm just stopping here for a quick break. But, it's top secret so I can't tell anyone," he said to them.

"Top secret…? What is the mission?" Elsword asked, completely ignoring the actually meaning of those two words. Zexon shook his head lightly. "I just said it was top secret. I can't tell anyone and I just met you," he said to Elsword.

Aisha took a step closer to Zexon, staring deeply into the knight's eyes. "Are you sure you can't tell me? I think we can help you," she said to him. Shuffling uncomfortably, Zexon took a step back as Elsword clenched his fist together, slightly flustered although he didn't know why.

"Um…I guess it wouldn't hurt. There had been a reading of dark energy here which resembles the energy that radiates from the El, but it is the exact opposite and we have been getting negative readings. The leader of my guild traced it to somewhere around this region and sent me to track it down, but I've been stumped…" Zexon stated reluctantly, looking down at the ground now.

Aisha smiled to herself, retreating back to Elsword's side. _That was easier than I thought. At least he's more intimidated by girls than Elsword is._ "Where did you look so far?" she asked Zexon. "I actually haven't looked around all that much. I just got here…" the young knight replied.

_I have a feeling what whatever this kid is talking about relates to the El. Damn it. I'll have to stick around another brat. _Letting out a small sigh, Elsword scratched his head. "There is a forest nearby. We can try looking there."

"You mean Shadow Forest?" Aisha questioned, looking over at Elsword now. "How should I know? I didn't even know the name of this village," Elsword grumbled, diverting his gaze away from the purple-haired mage and Zexon.

"The name does seem to fit the description of where it could be though…" Zexon trailed off, thinking carefully now. Aisha nodded, a faint smile cast upon her face. "Then it's decided. Let's go check out this forest," she said, her voice a little happy.

"Hurry up and let's get moving then. I'm not waiting for either of you and don't slow me down either," Elsword said, tucking his hands into the gaps between his chest and pant armor, trudging off to the opposing exit, both Zexon and Aisha following him.

* * *

Twisting in midair, dodging a poor-placed trap and attack by a dumbfounded bandit, the green-haired elf swiftly brought her leg down in one rapid motion, connecting her heel with the top of the bandit's head, a cracking sound emitting and the bandit slumped to the ground, drool dribbling out of his mouth. Groans sounded all around Rena, a swarm of now unconscious bandits around her, forming a small circle. A faint smile was upon her face as she rubbed one of her wrists, staring down at one of the squirming bandits, placing her foot down on the small of his back. "This is too easy. But, none of them were able to give me any information. I can't believe the El is actually gone though…but I can feel the disturbance in the atmosphere without it," she said to herself.

Taking a few steps back, she pressed her back onto the side of a nearby tree trunk, looking up at the bright and sunny sky. Near Elder village, she had decided to take a quick break before a group of bandits decided to ambush her, but she quickly showed them that it wasn't polite to attack a lady when she's alone or resting. Her longish ears twitched slightly, the sight of something blue catching her eye. Pressing herself off of the branch, she strolled over to a small pendent on the ground, next to one of the bandits. Shining with pure energy was an El crystal, latched tightly to the core of the necklace. Picking it up, Rena observed it, noticing an odd sign on the back of it, an almost ominous feeling coming from it. The symbol "死" was red, contrasting sharply from the pale blue color of the crystal. _What is this? Why do I get such a bad feeling from this little crystal? It's almost as if it's radiating a dark energy…_The smile on Rena's face had wavered.

Rena clasped her fingers around the necklace, shoving it into the pocket of her skirt. While she felt as if it was important to keep it, she didn't think it was particularly safe to wear it. "I may have better results in the next village," she said to herself.

"I-I finally…caught up to you," Aika stated, panting heavily as he stood near the unconscious bodies of two bandits, hands on his knees, as he stared down at the ground. Rena scrunched up her eyebrows. _Do all knights do that when they're out of breath? _"Oh, what is it that you could possibly want from me?" she asked Aika, her voice sweet now, the smile placed back onto her face.

Aika lifted his head, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Lowe sent me after you. He said that there is something you have to investigate. It's in a place called Shadow Forest and it's located right outside of the next village," he said to Rena.

"Well, you didn't have to tire yourself out by running all the way here and telling me. I would have eventually found it," Rena exclaimed, tilting her head to the side somewhat as she placed one hand on the edge of her hip.

"Err…He also sent me as backup. But, I don't think you really need it," Aika said, looking over the dozen knocked out bandits, a slight frown upon his face.

"No, I don't, but I do appreciate the offer. If you really want to, you can come with me," Rena replied, turning around to face Elder village now. Strutting over, taking a single step at a time, Rena narrowed her eyes, her fingers drumming against the side of the El necklace. _Maybe this Shadow Forest will help me in my search…_

Aika nodded, bouncing up twice before running after Rena. "Y-yes…I'll be happy to come along." And so, both Rena and Aika walked into Elder village, starting to make their way to Shadow Forest, where Elsword, Aisha, and Zexon were nearing as well.

* * *

Somewhere in the middle of both space, time, reality, and illusion stood a completely cloaked man. Juggling two blue-colored cubes in his hand, a faint smile spread behind his mask, his glowing yellow-orange eyes staring blankly at the screen in front of him, or rather two screens. One illustrated both Rena and Aika while the other showed the travels of Elsword, Aisha, and Zexon. "Children, children, blissfully unaware of the path they walk. If one of them were to challenge both time and space…what would happen?"

* * *

_**: Author's Note:**_

So, that's chapter 3 for Gates of Darkness: Unknown Reality. I would appreciate some reviews/critique to know if I'm doing the alright or not. In any case, I do propose the chapters will start to get more interesting now, but this was more of a filler chapter really. For all the people that had reviewed/liked/followed thus far, I would like to thank you for the time you took reading this story. This is MessiahofDar, signing off.


	4. Formation Bond

_Formation Bond_

_This is torture. When that Hoffman guy told us to look around the village and surrounding forest for clues that could lead to the El, he forgot to mention that the entire area around the village was a damn forest. All I can see are trees, trees, and…even more trees. _Letting out a small sigh, Elsword shuffled through a clump of roots, placing his hand on the trunk of a tree next to him. Resting the back of his blade on his shoulder, he looked back at his two companions, a scowl emit on his face. "Can you speed up? I have to slow down just for you. I told you that if you were going to slow me down then you should just get lost!" he exclaimed, directing that statement towards Aisha.

Aisha, who had been walking at her own pace, fixated her gaze onto Elsword, a trace of fire materializing in her violet irises. "You dummy! If it weren't for me, you would have been burnt to a crisp by the giant Phoru. You should stop acting like a kid and just accept my help," she retorted back, repressing the urge to whack the red-haired knight with the top of her staff.

"Look who's talking! You're younger than me and you're calling me a kid. Go grow up, you flat brat." Turning his head away from the purple-haired mage, Elsword continued his trek through the forest, ready to jump down onto a new path before he felt something hit him against the back of his head. The feeling was very familiar, so he knew who it was, but that didn't stop the pain that came from the blow. "Ugh. What the hell is wrong with you?" he exclaimed to Aisha, grasping the hilt of his blade now, ready to swing it at the mage.

Aisha's face was flustered, close to the color of a ripe tomato. "I'm fifteen years old, you jerk. Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to involve someone's chest into a discussion? God, you're such an idiot," she said to Elsword, swiping the wand at Elsword again, who merely caught it in the palm of his left hand, a scowl on his face.

"I dare you to say that again, little princess," Elsword snapped back at Aisha, his voice full of contempt and irritation. That's when Zexon decided to break things up. "Alright, you two, that's enough now. I mean we're making good progress and all. You don't have to get so flustered up at each other…" the other knight said, pushing the two "lovebirds" away from each other.

"But, he started it! I should at least get the chance to burn him a bit," Aisha complained, conjuring up a small fireball just to add emphasis to her point. "Oh, right. And it's not my fault that you can't do anything but just complain and whine like a little kid," the red-haired knight responded.

Zexon scratched his head, tilting it to the side slightly, a small chuckle escaping from his parted lips. "Come on, come on, we don't have time for this. I thought you guys wanted to retrieve the El. We're on the right path now, I can feel it."

Elsword flipped his head over to Zexon, a frown replacing the scowl he just had. "Who died and made you leader? You just joined randomly. You have no right to make decisions," he said to Zexon.

Aisha kicked Elsword in the shin, sending the red-haired knight to jump around, holding the lower area of his leg in between the knee and ankle. "At least he knows how to run a group, unlike you," she said to Elsword.

Zexon let out a small sigh; ultimately face palming himself before clasping his hand back onto the side of his arm. _How in the world did these two start working together in the first place? It's obvious they hate each other. Unless it's a love hate relationship that will turn into a completely two-sided affectionate relationship after awhile, but that's just me ranting off again in my own fantasies…I need to get a life._ Taking one step back from the two, he planted his back against the trunk of a tree, closing his eyes for a moment before snapping them open again. "I think we should take a break now. We can all cool down that way," he said to the two of them.

Elsword was still jumping on one foot, shaking his head wildly at the suggestion. "No, there's still daylight. It's better to move now when we still can."

Zexon scrunched up his eyebrow, a sly smile on his face. "Are you suggesting you can move in that state or fight? I really think you should sit down-"he started before Elsword simply placed his other foot down on the ground. "See, I'm perfectly fine. Let's go," the red-haired knight said and shifted his body around to take one step forward, before falling face-first onto the ground in front of him.

"Told you," Zexon said, his voice holding a false sense of sweetness, laughing as he proved his point. Making his way over to Elsword, he helped the older knight up to his feet and sat him down onto the tree behind him. Looking over at Aisha now, the small cheery smile was still on his face. "How about you? Are you okay?"

Aisha nodded, moving her hands to her back, swaying from side to side lightly. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," she said to Zexon, her tone of voice much different now as she talked to Zexon in contrast to when she talked to Elsword.

Zexon nodded, sitting down a few feet away from both the mage and knight, looking down at the ground now with calm and peaceful eyes. A small silence emitted in the small clearing, all three of them not exchanging a single word to each other. The trees around them were large and plentiful, leaves descending from the branches each time a gust of wind passed by, forming piles of leaves scattered across the ground. The smell of pine swirled around Zexon's nose and the sun shined lightly, a comfortable warmth drawn upon the three of them.

A scream was all it took to disrupt the peaceful moment. Eyes fluttering open, Zexon watched as Aisha was sitting on a branch…no, it seemed as if the tree had grabbed her. Two yellow pupils had materialized on the tree, its branches now arms had grabbed the purple-haired mage. That's when all the trees around them started to do the same, even the ones that both Zexon and Elsword were resting on. Gritting his teeth, Zexon quickly rolled forward, watching as Elsword was now picked up, unable to dart away due to two reasons. First, the older knight was sleeping and second, his kicked shin stopped him from moving out of the tree's grasp as it caught him. Zexon rose to his feet, his hand instantly gripping the hilt of his blade and in one solid motion, he unsheathed his blade, the silver weapon glinting in the sunlight as he readied himself for battle. Growls escaped from the tree's throats and they raised their "arms", Aisha letting out a yelp as the branches around her tightened, squirming lightly to no avail. Narrowing his eyes, Zexon sprinted at the Mini Ent, jumping into the air as he brought the blade down in one sideways ark, aiming at the tree's chest.

* * *

Back at Elder Village, the new pair consisting of an Elf and a human walked briskly into the town, stopping by Luichel's accessory shop. Rena observed the structure of the village, her green-colored eyes scanning the entire area. _This village really specializes in marketing and exportation. It also specializes in giant statues of the same person…_Placing one hand onto the base of one of the Wally statues, she looked back at Aika, who was standing behind her, his hands clasped together as he stood awkwardly there.

A smile spread across Rena's lips and she turned around so she was now facing Aika. "Is there something wrong?" she asked the knight, her voice cheery and smooth as silk.

_So, this is Elder Village. Lowe did say that it was a merchant village but he said nothing of this…Wally guy. This worries me. But, the town does seem to be striving, but that's because they haven't heard the news of the El being taken. If that were to spread, this lively town would turn into one of chaos and disorder. _Rena's voice snapped Aika out of his thoughts and he looked dumbly at the green-haired elf. "What…?" he said, not paying attention to what she had said.

Rena stepped closer to Aika, snapping her fingers in front of his face now. "Hello? Is something wrong?" she asked him again, tilting her head to the side somewhat now. Aika shook his head, shuffling uncomfortably as he took one giant step back. "No, no…I'm fine," he said to the elf. Rena smiled lightly, tapping Aika's chin, and strutted off slowly, making her way to the middle of the village. "You need to grow accustomed to interacting with girls, Aika!" she exclaimed to him, her voice sounding innocent. That made Aika's cheeks become red slightly and he tufted his hands into his pockets, following after the elf. _It's not like you make it any easier…_Stopping in front of a large cabin-like house, Aika looked at it through narrowed eyes. "Is this Hoffman's house…?" he muttered to himself. Lowe had told him that if he ever went to Elder village, he should consult Hoffman. "Hey, Rena, wait!" he exclaimed, throwing one hand out to the side, even though the green-haired female was a few feet away from him.

Rena came to a stop, whisking around to face Aika with a smile. "What is it?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side somewhat. Aika ruffled his hair, pointing at the very large cabin-like structure next to him. "I need to speak to the merchant that lives in there."

Rena redirected her sight from Aika over to the left, observing the massive structure. The other stalls and buildings paled in comparison to this one, making her believe that whoever lived in it may be the lead merchant of this town. _Maybe he'll have some information that can help me find the El faster…_She nodded gently, strutting past Aika and knocked gently on the wooden door, her pale knuckles tapping against the hard structure.

It didn't even take a full minute before the door swung open and Hoffman's figure materialized at the new gaping opening. "Hello. How many I help you?" his gruff voice emitted, his eyes peering down at Rena. His face was friendly and his hands were tufted tightly around his back, a clear sign of authority.

Rena was speechless for a moment, but realized that Hoffman was speaking to her. "Oh, my friend and I were wondering if you could answer a few questions for us." Hoffman scratched his balding head, moving to the side to allow entrance to both of them. "We'll have to make this quick. I'm scheduled for a meeting with the other merchants in the village soon," he stated. "Thank you," Rena replied, her voice joyous and merry as she strolled past Hoffman into the building. Aika followed Rena awkwardly, bumping into Hoffman and whispering a quiet apology before stopping behind the female elf.

Hoffman closed the door behind him, turning to face the two new adventurers. _First I have Aisha and that red-haired knight visiting me and now I have an elf and another knight here. It makes me wonder just what is going on right now. _"What did you want to ask me?"

Rena's fingers drummed silently against the surface of one of the wooden tables placed randomly in the homely space and she shifted her green eyes to look at Hoffman, humming lightly. "I was wondering if you know anything about the El from-"she started but quickly faltered when the merchant raised his hand.

"So you're after the stolen El too? Two people have already been here and asked me about it. I know nothing that could possibly help you on your search but to tell you to search the surrounding area," he interrupted, the merchant now lowering his hand back down to his side.

Aika suddenly lurched forward, standing directly in front of Hoffman now. "Was one of them named Elsword?" he asked, his voice urgent and almost desperate, a wild sort of look in his eyes now.

Hoffman scratched his head again, shrugging his shoulders. "I am not sure. The boy who was with Aisha did not tell me his name. Does he have spiky crimson hair and a scowl on his face all the time?"

Aika nodded, his head bobbing up and down at a rapid rate. He looked back at Rena, a half smile half frown cast onto his face. "Rena! We need to find Elsword now. Lowe told me specifically to detain him and put him in a small Phoru cage until he sends another knight after us," he exclaimed to the elf.

Rena twirled around, still humming the quiet peaceful lullaby, clasping her hands behind her back as she took a single step towards the two men. "Alright~ do you know what exit they took?" she asked Hoffman. Hoffman shook his head, a small frown etching itself onto his face. "No, I don't. I wish I could have been of more help to you two, but that's all I know," the merchant said to them.

"That's all the information we need. Thank you Hoffman!" Aika exclaimed. Grabbing Rena's hand, he broke into a run, instantly running out of the little lodge house and started to run towards the left exit, leaving Hoffman alone in his house.

Boots skidding after Aika, Rena stumbled lightly, the knight in front of her running at an almost inhumane speed. "H-hey, hold it!" she blurted out. Digging her feet into the road, she pulled back, causing Aika to recoil forwards and fall promptly onto his back in front of her. "Don't be so rash. If you run into things that fast, you can get hurt. Okay, dear~?" she lectured Aika, bending down slightly to peer at his face.

Scrambling to his feet, Aika nodded glumly, swaying from side to side as he straightened himself up. Readjusting his blade, he clasped his hands together and exhaled a small stream of air. "Yeah…Sorry," he finally said after a good minute or so, opening his indigo eyes to stare at the smiling elf.

Rena clapped her hands together, starting to walk slowly towards the other exit of Elder village, seeing the giant forest laid there. "Let's start moving then. I'm sure you want to find this Elsword buddy of yours, right?" she asked sweetly, looking back at Aika.

Aika nodded, his eyes sparking with determination as he walked next to Rena. "Right," he said simply to the elf next to him, not appearing awkward for once. Gripping the hilt of his blade, he narrowed his eyes slightly, stopping at the very edge of the exit, looking at the almost endless array of trees. "Are you ready?" he asked, stopping to question the Wind Sneaker.

"Of course~"

* * *

Plunging the sword into the Mini Ent's chest, pieces of bark cracked around the blade, shards of the white-colored wood falling off. It roared, shifting its branches to the side in an attempt to swat Zexon away, who jumped back before the roots connected with his face. Sliding across the forestry ground, Zexon pummeled the floor with his sword, forcing himself to stop. _A single strike won't do these trees in. They have some sort of defense. The bark shouldn't be too hard to cut through. _The cracks and splinters on the first tree confirmed that much. The only problem was how he was going to take down all the trees around him and save both Aisha and Elsword.

Raising his sword, Zexon drew it back as if he was going to throw a spear, and hurled his weapon towards the tree holding the purple-haired mage. Watching the blade connect with the chest of the Ent, a small smile came onto Zexon's face. _Okay, part one of my plan is done. Now what? _Breaking into a dash, Zexon rolled forward, narrowly avoiding a sudden tackle from another Ent, his knees rocking slightly as he twisted across the leafy surface. Gritting his teeth, Zexon pushed himself to his feet and jumped up. His hands reached out for the lowest branches of the personified tree. Clutching the small branch, Zexon heaved himself up and jumped towards his sword, trying to grab it before being slammed away with one swipe of the Ent's hands.

Scrambling backwards, Zexon collided into another one of the Mini Ent's. Branches grabbing his ankles, Zexon was lifted up, the tree roaring in his face, small specks of "spit" all over his face. _Disgusting…_Thrown onto the ground, the young knight let out a small yelp, a small cracking sound emitting from his back. A small trail of blood rolled down the side of his mouth and he stood up shakily. Swaying from side to side, his eyes gleamed. _Fine, if they want to play hardball, I won't hold back. _Closing his eyes for a moment, a small smirk came onto his face. "Thou hath chosen me to wield you, sword of darkness. In my time of need, I request your power and summon thee, blade of misgivings and death. Come forth, almighty blade, Cornwell!" Zexon said to himself.

An almost dark aura, close to the color black swelled around his right palm. An outline of a sword materialized in his outstretched hand, a red blade coated in silver, a yellow engraving in the very middle. Zexon's eyes flashed red before returning to their usual greenish color. _Let's try this again…_Gripping the Cornwell tightly, Zexon surged forward and jumped at the tree holding Aisha. Landing on his own blade, he slashed down at the tree, cutting it in half, the sudden roar from the Ent dying in a second. Taking his other blade, he cut the bindings around Aisha and carried her on his shoulder, landing back onto the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked her, his voice full of concern.

Aisha instantly nodded. "Who do you think I am? Of course I'm fine. I'm a genius magician after all," she snapped, immediately teleporting away from the young knight and appearing next to him. "Thank you though," she said a little softer, twirling her staff in between her fingers as her purple eyes stared at the remaining Ents.

"I don't suppose you have a way of taking all of these down at once? It'll get pretty tiring to take them down one by one," Zexon questioned Aisha, lowering both of his swords to his side, ready to engage the Ents again and save Elsword this time. "I may have something, but you have to go save the idiot first, because I'm not going to," Aisha replied.

"Ugh, I can hear your stupid voice all the way from here. Instead of making love to each other, can one of you help me down?" Elsword's voice rang out, his voice irritated. Even while hanging upside down from an Ent's branches, a scowl was present on his face, his crimson-colored eyes narrowed slightly.

Aisha twitched slightly, her knuckles white as she clutched her staff tighter. "Why don't you shut up? It's your fault that you're in that position! You're not even worth saving!" she shouted out, the Ents around them watching the two of them with small pale yellow-colored eyes.

"Yeah, okay. At least I'm not some whiny little princess who needs to be saved. Ooh, look, it's a knight! Maybe they'll save me and all I have to do is get kidnapped by some tree! My fairytale is complete!" Elsword retorted, imitating Aisha's voice in a very fail girly voice.

Aisha's palm opened slightly, a small ball of fire emitting. "You got 'kidnapped' by those trees too, you dummy! What does that make you? Some stupid prince?" she bellowed back. Zexon coughed, still in his battle position. "Are you two seriously arguing in a situation like this?" he asked them, disbelief clear in his voice.

Aisha instantly stopped arguing, looking blankly at the ground before reverting her eyes back to the Ent holding Elsword. Elsword, on the other hand, kept talking, but it was all jumbled words and nonsense now as the Ent holding him started to shake him slightly, increasing its grip on the red-haired knight.

Zexon let out a small sigh, now running towards that specific Ent. _You have got to be kidding me. He's being shaken like a rag doll and he's still talking. _"Aisha! Focus on the Ents around me while I take this one down!" he shouted the order back to the purple-haired mage, who nodded. "Gotcha!" she answered back.

Jumping forward, Zexon planted his boot firmly onto the Ent's trunk, digging his regular sword into its chest, repeating his former plan. Gripping the hilt of the blade, he twisted himself around, getting a split second view of Aisha. Another Ent was behind her as she was busy whispering an incantation to herself. "Heads up, Aisha!" he exclaimed. Slashing the Cornwell forward, he removed the binds of branches around Elsword, and kicked off the trunk of the tree, throwing his regular sword at the face of the Ent behind Aisha, the blade connecting with its face. The glow in its eyes vanished and it slumped forward, hitting the ground.

Aisha finished her incantation and reopened her eyes, her violet irises flashing with determination. "Thanks!" she said back. Waving her wand in one sideways motion, the ground beneath her cracked and a giant plume of fire instantly shot up, surrounding her with a wave of fire, burning away the Ents that were around her. The smell and aroma of the crisp bark drifted in the air, the Ents reduced to a pile of molten ash.

Elsword rolled forward, now freed from the grasp of the Ents. A scratch was one his face and there were many more on his arms, but he ignored them. Propping his sword onto his shoulder, a red-colored aura enveloped him and he turned around slowly, his eyes narrowing slightly at the remaining few Ents. Zexon stood next to him, observing the aura before looking back at the trees as well. _What is that aura? It seems almost godly…_Gripping both the Cornwell and his other sword, Zexon broke into a run. "Ready?" he asked the other knight.

"Of course, I'm not some kid!" Elsword retorted back. Running beside Zexon, the two knights assaulted the remaining Ents. Ducking underneath the outstretched branches of one of the Ents, Elsword thrust his sword into the base of the tree, and then slashed upwards, cutting the tree halfway to the top. Jumping onto it, Elsword climbed the branches and leapt into the air, twisting as he cut downwards, connecting the two cuts. Wedging into two, the ground shook lightly from the impact of the broken bark. Elsword landed on his feet and looked over to Zexon, who had already annihilated the other Ent.

Zexon threw the Cornwell into the air, the demon sword dissipating instantly. Sheathing his regular blade, he trudged over to Elsword, a smile planted onto his face. "Nice job," he said to the other knight, holding a clenched fist towards him. The red-haired knight looked at it and outstretched his own, the two colliding with each other. "You too," he said simply, not really wanting to give Zexon credit.

Pulling away, Zexon marched forward. "With those out of the way, I can fully say that we're in the area that I need to be in. I didn't notice as we were fighting, but I think you two can notice now. It's really dark here," he said to the two of them. Aisha nodded gently, strutting over to one of the trees, observing how darker it was, especially since the bark was now tinted with a purplish color. "It does feel as if there's a lot of negative energy here. What should we do?"

Elsword let out a small laugh, his sword propped promptly onto his shoulder. "That's a stupid question. We keep going. This is the closest thing I've seen so far as a clue to the missing El and I'm going to follow it," he snapped. The red aura around him had vanished, his eyes no longer sharp. Aisha whacked the palm of her hand with her staff. "Why you little..." she trailed off, ready to hit Elsword on the back of his head with her staff.

"Come on guys. I think we should keep going too, but the least you two can do is try and get along. I mean, if you two are together and are both trying to find the El, you need to learn how to cooperate," Zexon stated.

"Cooperate with him? That's impossible. He's a little blubbering dummy!" Aisha protested. "I agree with Aisha here. I can't work with her. She's a little whiny princess!" Elsword retorted back. The both of them were standing right in front of each other, fire in their eyes as they glared at each other, mock lightning shooting past them.

Zexon scratched his head before rightly face palming himself. "If you two won't work with each other, at least work with me. Come on." Turning around, the young knight ventured deeper into the dark forest, his eyes narrowed slightly as if he expected another ambush, Aisha following behind.

"Who made him leader?" Elsword grumbled to himself. Sighing, he trudged after the two of them, not bothering to sheath his weapon as he made his way deeper into Shadow Forest.

In contrast to the luscious and lively forest behind them, the area they had just ventured into was dark, menacing, and foreboding. The wind howled and blew a bitter chill past the dying trees; it danced with the leaves and dragged them away unwillingly from the autumn ground. The floor was damp and stagnant with the odor of decomposing wood; diamonds pierced the black sheet held up above. The forest seemed to continue forever, the tall silhouettes of purplish trees shadowing the ground. An abnormal presence lurked around, shadowing each living organism with dire precision.

"It's so dark here…" Aisha trailed off, sticking close to Zexon and Elsword. "What? Are you scared, princess?" the red-haired knight taunted her, smirking at the purple-haired mage. Aisha didn't say anything but shot Elsword an evil glare, a small wisp of fire flickering lightly on her fingertips.

"There's nothing here. All I can see is that really big tree over there. Is that all there is here? Must have been a false alarm…" Zexon muttered, scratching his head.

There was a large clearing ahead, full of dull darkened grass and the gigantic tree, at least double the size of the Mini Ents that they had just killed. A chilly gust of wind blew by, ruffling his clothes. "Do you guys sense anything strange?" Zexon asked them.

"All I see is some stupid giant tree. I thought we would find some bandits or something, but this is just stupid. That Hoffman guy is an idiot," Elsword replied, the scowl back onto his face.

Aisha bashed the bottom side of her staff against the top of Elsword's head, resulting in a yell from him. "Maybe if you stop calling everything stupid and pay attention, you might actually see something, you dummy! And Hoffman isn't an idiot," she snapped to him.

"Oh, do you actually see something that in any way relates to the El at all, princess?" Elsword questioned back, contempt in his voice as he rubbed the top of his head, glaring at the purple-haired mage.

"N-no…" Aisha trailed off, a frown now itching itself onto her face. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Stop whining, you little brat," Elsword retorted. The two of them were having another staring contest, lightning flashing in the background behind them.

"Calm down you two. I sense a darker presence here," Zexon said to the two of them, his eyes narrowing slightly at the large tree in front of them.

"How can you sense it and we can't? Do you have some magical powers or something?" Elsword questioned the younger knight, his sword prompted firmly on his shoulder.

"I guess you can say that. The second sword that I wield, the Cornwell, allows me to sense darkness. That side of me is going crazy right now," Zexon responded, his voice calm. Extending his free hand, he repeated his former incantation, and the Cornwell materialized in his hand. "If there is truly anything foreboding here, it can't resist the power of the Cornwell."

As if on cue, the gigantic tree in front of them let out a roar, the grass and trees around it shaking slightly from the mere pressure of the bellow. Large yellow eyes appeared on the trunk and the entire ground shook as the tree heaved itself up, its branches swaying from side to side lightly, each point jagged and sharp. Beneath its eyes was a circular opening, a red crimson liquid flowing from it, a set of triangular teeth placed in it. The Ent stared at the Cornwell, an almost smile-looking expression forming itself on its mashed up and twisted face.

"That's the source of the darkness in this area or at least that's my assumption," Zexon stated to the other two, readying himself into his combat position. Lowering one knee so that it was just above the ground, he placed his other foot adjacent to his other, propping his regular sword onto his shoulder while he held the Cornwell out in front of him.

Aisha twirled the wand in between her fingers, a small smirk coming onto her face. "I think I see a little cave behind the Ent. You think that could be something important?" she asked randomly, leaving the question open to anyone.

Elsword shrugged, his eyes gleaming suddenly. The red aura materialized around him again and he lowered his sword from his shoulder. "The bandits could have hidden themselves there. All we have to do is take down this tree and we can keep going. It shouldn't be too hard since we massacred its family back there."

"I don't think it'll be that easy. This one seems to be stronger than the rest," Zexon argued, still not moving. _I don't have a good feeling about that cave behind that tree. It worries me…_

"Screw that! I'm taking this thing down!" Elsword shouted. Ignoring Aisha's and Zexon's protests, the red-haired knight shot forward, digging his foot into the ground, and twisted around, jabbing his sword three times at the base of the tree.

Each blow was deflected harmlessly off of the purplish trunk and the Ent shifted forward, using its roots sprawled on the ground to hit Elsword squarely in the stomach, knocking the knight off his feet and launched him back to his two companions.

Losing all his breath in that one blow, Elsword coughed, tumbling aimlessly across the field of dark grass. _What the hell…That tree wasn't harmed at all by me and just knocked me back like that? _Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself back to his feet, panting lightly before charging in again. Throwing his sword into the air, Elsword's crimson aura suddenly switched color, a blue sphere now appearing around him. His speed suddenly increased and he flickered for a moment, appearing beside his sword in the air now. Grabbing the hilt of the blade, he flipped in the air and performed three consecutive strikes onto the Ent, achieving a small dent in its chest.

The Ent roared and swiped its branches at Elsword, who twisted midair and placed his hand onto the branch, flipping himself around so that he was now standing on it. Propping his sword onto his shoulder for a quick second, the red knight smirked before it suddenly started to feel very hot.

"Hey, dummy! Get out of the way unless you want to be burnt alive!" Aisha exclaimed, having finished her incantation. Waving her wand down to her side, she closed her eyes for a moment before stabbing her wand forward.

The ground underneath the Ent suddenly gave way, a giant plume of fire erupting and consumed the tree in a wall of fire. Elsword immediately used his new speed and leapt off the branch he was on, rolling in the air and skidded across the ground, stopping next to Zexon now.

"You could have given me a better warning, you grapehead!" Elsword shouted, bringing himself back to his feet. The blue aura flickered lightly before vanished, leaving Elsword in his base form.

"I could have, but I think you deserved it for charging in by yourself," Aisha replied, smiling slyly at the red-haired knight, sticking her tongue lightly at him before retracting it.

"I will freaking murder you," the red-haired knight said simply. "You want to go then?" Aisha replied, her eyes flashing now, the previous amusement in her voice gone.

"Oi, lovebirds, that tree isn't dead yet," Zexon said simply. The other two glared at each other for a second longer before looking back at the Ent.

The tree was burnt slightly, barely affected by Aisha's spell. Waving it's branches to the side, it slammed them onto the ground, causing the three of them to jump slightly from the force, its yellow eyes looking almost demonic now. Raising its head to the sky, a loud roar escaped from its gaping mouth and it crept slowly towards them, the entire ground shaking as it did so.

"Aisha. Try using a different spell that won't fry both Elsword and I. Elsword, you and me are going to assault that thing. Have you ever heard of Formation Bond?" Zexon questioned the other knight, looking at him expectedly.

Elsword scrunched his eyebrows up, forgetting to question why Zexon was ordering them around. "Formation Bond? What is that…?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

"The Formation Bond is an advanced technique when two knights are facing one opponent. It begins with a simple thrust of the sword and then a quick jab of multiple strikes and then a final attack involving some sort of magical spell," Zexon explained, doing a quick example of the said method. "Do you know any sort of spell?"

Elsword nodded, his eyes narrowed slightly. "It's a bit difficult to explain, but I can do something," he replied. _Does my explosion thing count when I hit the ground with my sword? I hope that counts as a magical spell…_

"I don't want to interrupt the little lesson you two are having, but even for a magician like me, this tree won't freaking die!" Aisha exclaimed to the two of them, a bolt of lightning protruding from her wand, striking the Ent in the middle of its chest, electrocuting it, visible currents of blue static dancing across the bark.

"Let's try it. I'll lead," Zexon said to Elsword. Gripping his sword and the Cornwell, the young knight dashed forward, starting Formation Bond. Thrusting his sword forward, his regular sword slid into the Ent's bottom half. Using that sword, he propelled himself up and then started to slash multiple times at the chest of the tree with the Cornwell, making several dents but not a single actual cut. Kicking off the tree, Zexon flipped in the air and looked at the red-haired knight. "Go!"

Elsword, taking his cue, marched forward. Reenacting Zexon's movements, he followed up with his own combo, twirling in the air as he bashed the hilt of his sword into the tree's yellow eye, before stabbing downward on the head of the Ent, resulting in another roar from the tree. Jumping off of the tree, Elsword landed on the ground and surged forward, striking the ground with his sword. At the same time, Zexon had thrown the Cornwell into the air, the sword multiplying into multiple swords now.

"Formation Bond!" the two of them exclaimed at the same time, both of them glowing a bit red as a large fiery explosion erupted from the tip of Elsword's blade and the multiple Cornwells slammed into the Ent, consuming it in a large ball of fire-consumed swords. The two knights jumped back, stumbling back slightly as they stopped by Aisha.

Elsword panted lightly, a genuine smile on his face. "That was awesome!" he exclaimed loudly, looking at Zexon with wide eyes. The younger knight nodded, returning the smile. "I didn't think it would work, but there we have it," he replied. Propping both the sword and Cornwell onto his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes at the Ent, who seemed to be down for the count now, until a small roar came from its gaping hole and it slowly stood up again.

"Stand back boys, it's my turn now," Aisha said to the two of them. Whispering an incantation to herself, she was about to fire, before a single arrow shot from behind them and hit the Ent in between its eyes, the yellow eyes suddenly becoming dull as it slumped forward, the whole ground shaking as it fell onto the ground. "W-what…?" Aisha asked dumbly, but neither Elsword nor Zexon had answers until a voice rang out from behind them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but that fight was getting boring~" the green-haired elf said sweetly, strutting forward to look at the three of them. "Is this the knight you were looking for, Aika?" she asked the knight behind her, exchanging him a glance, her eyes round.

"Elsword!" the new knight exclaimed, stopping right in front of the red-haired knight, a scowl on Aika's face. "What do you think you're doing here? Lowe was going to kill everything when he heard that you went missing," he said to Elsword.

Elsword jumped back, hiding before Zexon. "Aika?! What are you doing here?" the red-haired knight asked, holding his sword out at the other knight.

"Lowe sent me after you and you're coming back with me," Aika stated, placing one hand on the boy's shoulders who merely shrugged him off.

"Fat chance. I don't care what you or Lowe want, but I'm still going on. This way you guys won't treat me like a kid," Elsword retorted, turning around and started to walk off towards the cave.

Aisha rolled her eyes, a smile on her face now. "Oh, people other than me think that he's a kid too? See, you're just a little kid," the purple-haired mage taunted Elsword.

Elsword instantly turned around, gritting his teeth. "You're only two years older than me, so you don't have a right to say anything, you whiny brat!" he retorted back.

"Why you little…" Aisha trailed off, the two at each other's faces again. "Little what?" Elsword hissed back, a little anger vein popping on his face.

"Both of you quit it!" Rena exclaimed, her voice condensed to an almost creepy tone, her green eyes wide in a demonic way. That instantly made both Elsword and Aisha move away from each other, their rage dying done. "Good~" Rena said, her voice happy and cheery again. She strode over to the center of the clearing, looking at the dead Ent. _This Ent is so corrupted…Is it because of the misuse of the El? Only time will tell…_

"Elsword, I'm not kidding around. If I don't show up at Ruben village with you, Lowe will have my head," Aika stated, trying to reason with the hotheaded knight.

"You'll have to beat me to death and drag my dead body back to Ruben village, if you expect me to go with you until I find the El," Elsword snapped back.

"Pardon my intrusion, but if you're that worried about his wellbeing, why don't you just go along with him until you find the El?" Zexon questioned Aika, having made the Cornwell vanish before either Rena or Aika could see it, sheathing his sword now.

Aika remained silent for a moment or two before finally nodding. "I can see that Elsword won't comply with me, so I'll have to go with you. What a drag…" he said to himself, scratching his head, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.

"I have to go back to Elder village now," Zexon said, starting to walk back onto the path that they had entered Shadow Forest from.

"Wait…you're not coming with us?" Aisha asked, confusion evident in her voice. She took a few steps forward, looking at Zexon now, her head tilted to the side a bit.

"I can't. I was told to just investigate the negative reading here and report back. After I do, I'll see if I can come back and help you guys," Zexon explained, smiling at the purple-haired mage, and then his gaze flickered over to the red-haired knight who had stopped in front of him, a single clenched fist outstretched towards him. Zexon merely laughed, lifting his own fist to fist bump Elsword.

"Be safe, man. Don't go die now. I'll have no one else to do Formation Bond with," Elsword said to Zexon, his voice filled with a bit of respect to the younger knight.

Zexon scrunched his eyebrow up, shaking his head lightly. "I won't die that easily. See you guys in a bit, hopefully," he said to the small group there. Taking a few steps back, he waved and then ran back the way they had come from, vanishing from their sight into an array of dying trees and bushes.

"So, do we have to go in that cave now?" Rena asked, her voice a little quiet. She was in front of the black hole, listening to the quiet splashing of droplets, watching the wisps of water descend from the tip of the entrance and crash lightly against the ground.

"Wait…I know who Aika is, but who the hell are you?" Elsword interrogated Rena, stepping forward to the green-haired knight now, back to his former self.

"I am Rena, a Wind Sneaker. I was asked by Lowe to help retrieve the El and find you. Is that a problem~?" Rena asked sweetly, looking back at the red-haired knight with big and wide eyes.

"Uh…No?" Elsword responded dumbly, thrown off by Rena's attitude. Aisha smacked the top of his head with her wand, trudging over to Rena's side. "Oh, shut up, you dummy. We can use all the help we can get," she said to Elsword, who grumbled lightly before joining the two girls.

Aika stepped forwardly, stumbling lightly, before balancing himself. "I don't like dark places," he said, looking at the cave opening with narrowed eyes.

"It'll be fine. The rest of us are here, so you don't have anything to worry about," Rena comforted Aika, who nodded solemnly, whose only thought was that he was going to die.

Elsword sheathed his sword at last, a small grin on his face. _Time to show those bandits that they can't mess with the village Ruben or me. _"Let's go," he said to his three teammates, and the three of them descended into the darkness.

* * *

Still juggling the two blue-colored cubes, the cloaked man stared at the now combined portal. "So, they've combined forces. They will still face many hardships and challenges before they reach their final destination. They've yet to meet the rest of their comrades as well," the orange-eyed man said to himself. Turning to face the other direction, four images laid in front of him. One was of a black-haired man with a scowl, another was of a silvery-haired girl with two robotic companions, and another was of a young boy with a canon-type of weapon held in his hands. The fourth image was enshrouded in darkness, unknown to even him. "That image worries me. Darkness will soon be coming…I wonder if _he_ will be able to stop it."

* * *

: Author's – Note:

And that concludes chapter 4. I'm sorry for the delay, I just got sidetracked by life and I did have a few problems with writer's block. This chapter is also a bit longer too. Anyways, I hope I did well, so R&R please. xD

Orithia WindBell : Yes, Zexon is my own OC. Aika is an OC too. There will be a few more OC's, but they won't have major roles. Glaive is more of a watcher here. Actually, I'm not too sure. You'll have to keep reading~

RubyCrusade: I'd have to say that I'm honored to see such a great writer reviewing my story. In any case, the classes will be revealed and other than Rena, who is Wind Sneaker, everyone one is in their default classes.

G123u: Thanks for the critique as always. I'll try. xD

destroyerdestroyerdestroyer: Thanks for the critique. I tried to implement it a bit more this chapter. I hope I did a bit better or at least alright? xD

BlAxDiA: Elsword just doesn't know when to stop. He'll be assaulted by all the characters sooner or later. I guarantee it will happen, some time. –thumbs up-

The Cynical Asian: Thanks again for taking the time to critique. I tried implementing a bit more sass into Aisha's character this chapter, although I'm not very good with sassy characters, so yeah. xD I did that in Microsoft office but when I upload the chapters, the lines do vanish. I noticed that and I fixed it in chapters 3/4.


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